


When I Watch The World Burn

by diedinyourarms



Category: Bastille (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Apocalypse, Denny's, End of the World, Family Reunions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-03
Updated: 2020-08-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:56:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,643
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25679974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/diedinyourarms/pseuds/diedinyourarms
Summary: rock nation this is for you
Relationships: Kyle Simmons/Dan Smith
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	When I Watch The World Burn

6:45am

Dan’s hand fidgeted with his empty coffee mug as he gazed out the smudged window. It had been nearly half an hour since he first walked into this Denny’s and there was still no sign of the man he was looking for – just older couples trying to enjoy their last day on Earth and workers who seemed all too apathetic about spending their few remaining hours working a minimum wage job. 

Dan hadn’t initially intended on spending his last day in this Denny’s, either. He had spent the last few weeks overthinking how this particular day would go down – drinking, reuniting with his bandmates, trying to re-experience everything that made his short life worthwhile while he still could – but the previous night had left him reanalyzing what mattered to him most.

He had been looking through old family photo albums – only in short increments of time, though, because every so often he would remember what he was losing, and it all became too much – when he saw a familiar face. The corners of his mouth instinctively turned upwards as his fingertips grazed over bright red locks of hair. It was a yellowed, grainy photo of him and his brother, Rock, on the swing set at their childhood home. Photos like these were special, as Rock didn’t technically show up in photographs. But every so often, when the frame rate was just right, the camera would capture his smiling – frowning? Dan could never tell – face. 

It was that picture that ruined Dan’s rigidly scheduled last day. He decided then and there that he would spend the next twenty-four hours searching for his twin brother, and that they would be together when the world faded to black. Six hours later, that’s how Dan found himself in the Denny’s where Rock works, wishing the waitress would come around with a fresh coffee pot. 

Dan had exactly three vague details about Rock’s current life. 1. He was planning – and apparently successfully executing – a one-man takedown of the entire 1%. 2. He got married to someone Dan had never seen nor heard of. 3. He works at this Denny’s.

While Dan had never intended on their relationship becoming so distant, he couldn’t exactly say it was unexpected. They had been as relatively close during their younger years – Rock said time and time again that he did not like Dan at all but no one else wanted to spend time with the kid who astral projected during recess, so Dan ended up being his only option. When they reached their high school years, Rock spent almost no time at home, providing only vague details about “experiencing all the matter of the universe” and “connecting with the ancient ones.” Their parents honestly seemed too scared to ask Rock to elaborate, so Dan thought it best to leave his brother to his own devices. And on the day of their high school graduation, when Rock disappeared without a trace, save for a note that had “All good – Rock” written in wingdings, their family just left it at that, and they all went their separate ways. 

Dan was still caught up in his own head when the door to the restaurant slammed shut. He jumped in his booth, the ceramic mug slipping out of his hands and falling onto the table with a clang. The man walking into the restaurant turned towards the noise as Dan fretfully scanned the mug for cracks or chips. Dan finally looked up when he realized that the man near the door had been locked in place staring at him for a moment too long: “Rock?”

Rock looked up and exhaled, “God damnit.” 

11:15am

“But yeah, I actually never got married myself,” Dan laughed. “Married to my music, right?” He expected Rock to laugh with him, at least half-heartedly, but instead he was met with the same disinterested gaze he had been staring at since Rock sat down.

Dan paused, realizing it had been over four hours since Rock had said a single word.

“So,” Dan started. “you work here.” 

Rock nodded and began to reach into his tote bag. Dan watched excitedly, hoping that Rock was going to pull out something that they could talk about, but paused when he saw that it was only a Ziploc bag full of batteries. He watched in pure confusion as Rock threw the batteries in his mouth like they were popcorn. 

“Are you- are you eating fucking batteries?” Dan asked after a moment.

“I’m hungry,” Rock stated simply, as if it was the most normal occurrence in the world. “Listen, it’s been great catching up-”

“But you haven’t said anything-”

“Like I said, it’s been great, but my shift started four hours ago and technically I’ve been on the clock this entire time,” Rock began to exit the booth, but Dan hurriedly got to his feet before Rock could walk away.

“Come to my house tonight,” Dan said quickly. “I’ll cancel my plans and we can spend the whole night catching up. Leave the Earth alongside the same person we entered with; it’s kind of poetic, you know?”

Rock looked to the side with his mouth slightly agape, as though he was pondering how to respond, or maybe he was looking for someone to interrupt their conversation. “Only if you want to, obviously,” Dan added.

Rock turned back to him with the same disinterested look: “Okay. I’ll be there at 9. Don’t text me the address; I know where to go.” And with that, he ran through the employee entrance to the kitchen before Dan could say another word.

8:30pm

Weirdly enough, Dan was more worried about Rock coming to visit than he had ever been about any other visitor coming to his home. Maybe it was more his nervous cleaning habit than anything else, but Dan had spent four hours after he came home cleaning and completely rearranging his house, despite the fact that none of it would exist the following day. He felt compelled to make a meal for the two of them, so he had busied himself with that task for the next three hours (the finished product was mac n cheese and a fruit salad – he didn’t know how to cook). The remaining time between then and the present moment had been filled with saying goodbyes to old friends and loved ones, while simultaneously trying to listen to every record he owned at 2x speed in order to get through them all.

Rock rang his doorbell eight times at exactly 9pm. Dan jumped up from his seat in the kitchen and jogged to the door, only to see that Rock had already let himself inside.

“I thought that was locked…” Dan’s voice trailed off as Rock brushed past him and walked into the living room.

“Cool place; lot warmer than mine,” Rock observed as he looked around the room.

“Warmer?” Dan asked. “Where do you live?”

“A cave,” Rock said nonchalantly. “It’s Victorian style, you’d probably like it.” Dan only stared at Rock, unsure of whether or not he was joking, until Rock turned towards him without the slightest presence of a joking expression on his face.

“Oh, my wife wanted me to bring you something,” Rock reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a bundle of electrical wiring, along with a framed picture of a pigeon. “Some of my favorites. I didn’t want to bring anything; I told her you already hoard enough possessions for an entire family, but I need to be ‘grateful for your hospitality.’” 

“Oh, well… thank you,” Dan was unsure of what to say next.

“So, what’s for dinner? I haven’t eaten anything in- oh, man,” Rock laughed, “four days! Between work and perfecting the art of checkers, I haven’t had a second of rest.”

Once again, Dan stared at his brother, unsure of how to respond. “Wow, um, yeah, I made mac n cheese-”

“It’s pronounced macking cheese,” Rock interrupted. 

“Macking cheese,” Dan continued hesitantly, “and fruit salad. I hope that’s okay.”

Rock replied with a dissatisfied noise and began to rummage through Dan’s kitchen drawers. He stopped suddenly, pulling out a box of batteries. 

“Is double A all you have?” Rock looked up at Dan expectantly.

“Um, yeah, sorry.”

Rock sighed quietly as threw a battery into his mouth, not showing the slightest bit of concern when it sparked between his teeth. 

11:45pm

“I’m really, really glad we did this, Rock,” Dan said before tipping his glass back and swallowing the last drop of beer in his glass. He looked over at Rock, who had refused to sit down the entire night, choosing to stand on the coffee table instead. 

“Always good to catch up with an old friend.”

Dan tilted his head to the side as confusion covered his face, “you mean brother, right?”

Rock quickly shook his head and blinked, turning towards Dan, “Right, yeah. Definitely.” 

Rock and Dan had spent the past three and a half hours talking about their lives. Well, Dan did most of the talking, but Rock chimed in every once in a while, refencing only his wife, Karl Marx, and the same cryptic subjects he talked about in their youth. 

When the clock reached 11:58, Dan turned to Rock. “I’m going to miss you, man. And everything else. This situation really fucking sucks, doesn’t it?”

“I suppose so.” was all Rock said in reply.

“To the other side,” Dan smiled sadly as he held up his empty glass.

“To the other side,” Rock repeated.

And it all went black.

Not for Rock, though. This wasn’t his first time experiencing the end of the world, and he was sure it wouldn’t be his last. He simply stood up, ran his fingers through his bright red hair, and walked into the abyss, ready to start anew.


End file.
